KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec 10: The commander of border security in Iran's Khorasan Razavi, Majid Shojai, said 13,204 "illegal" Afghan migrants have been expelled from Iran, Khaama Press reported.
Khaama Press News Agency is an online news service for Afghanistan. Duri
Sep 21: Iran's parliament has passed a controversial bill that would increase prison terms and fines for women and girls who break its strict dress code.
Those dressed "inappropriately" face up to 10 years in jail under the bill, for which a three-year "trial&
Sep 18: Five American citizens jailed for years in Iran are flying back to the US as part of a prisoner swap mediated by Qatar.
The four men and one woman, who also hold Iranian passports, have taken off in a Qatari jet from the Iranian capital Tehran.
Sep 18: Five American citizens jailed for years in Iran are expected to fly back to the US today as part of a prisoner swap.
The four men and one woman, who also hold Iranian passports, are set to board a plane in the Iranian capital Tehran.
TEHRAN, July 21: Iran has summoned the Swedish ambassador to protest against the desecration of the Quran in Sweden, the official news agency IRNA reported on Thursday.
Swedish Ambassador in Tehran Mattias Lentz was summoned by Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani,
As IR Iran prepare to participate in their third consecutive FIFA World Cup campaign under the same manager, the nation’s finest generation aspires to make it past the group stage at the sixth time of asking.
To date, Team Melli fans remember with agony Mehdi Taremi’s squandered chance. The ball on his left foot, eight yards out and only Rui Patricio to beat, the would-be Porto goal machine failed to hit the target for what would have been the goal to send Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal crashing and Iran miraculously into the next round out of a group that also included Morocco and 2010 world champions Spain.
Four years on, Taremi and co are eager to continue their growth under Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, having picked up one point in 2014 and four in 2018, any increase on that tally is likely to see them reach the round of 16 for the first time. The likes of goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, Vahid Amiri, Ehsan Hajsafi and Karim Ansarifard are back in favour following the reappointment of Carlos Queiroz in September
Here are five players worth keeping an eye on as Team Melli look to create history in Qatar 2022.
Alireze Beiranvand
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 30
Four years ago, Alireza Beiranvand became one of the household names of Russia 2018 when he saved a penalty kick from Portugal ace Cristiano Ronaldo, the highlight of three heroic matches in which Team Melli conceded just two goals in arguably the most difficult group of the tournament.
It has since been quite a ride for the 1.96m tall shot stopper who earned a move from domestic powerhouse Persepolis to Belgium where spent a season at Royal Antwerp before being loaned out to Portuguese side Boavista. His European journey, however, didn’t last long and by the start of 2022, he was back on the books of Persepolis.
It was equally bumpy on the international front, with Beiranvand falling out of favour upon the arrival of Dragan Skočić who preferred Amir Abedzadeh as his number one throughout the qualifiers, but with the return of Queiroz, Beiranvand is set to find himself as Iran’s man between the sticks at the World Cup once more.
With the right physique to take on aerial challenges and a knack for saving penalties as well as agile reflexes in one-on-one situations, Beiranvand is a reliable asset at the back for Team Melli, but in a stage where they will have to sit deep and counter against the likes of England, Wales and the USA, the 30-year-old’s famed ability to throw a long ball will come in handy in launching swift counter-attacks.
Ehsan Hajsafi
Position: Left-back/defensive midfielder
Age: 32
Another one of those back from the relative cold under Queiroz, Iran captain Ehsan Hajsafi is set to be one of a few players who could make their third consecutive World Cup appearance, having made his World Cup debut against Nigeria in 2014.
A left-back by trade, the AEK Athens man is one of Queiroz’s most trusted soldiers, owing to his experience and flexibility which allows him to slot in at both the defensive and attacking parts of midfield as well as left wing if needed, feats that have contributed to Hajsafi racking over 120 caps for Team Melli.
Already one of the most accomplished players in the side, Hajsafi could become the single player with most World Cup matches played for Iran, a record he currently shares with teammate Alireza Jahanbakhsh and retired paid Mehdi Mahdavikia and Andranik Teymourian who have each played six World Cup games in Team Melli colours.
Karim Ansarifard
Position: Attacking midfielder
Age: 32
At the age of 32, Ansarifard’s prime years might be beyond him and he might not be an automatic starter for Iran in Qatar 2022, but the experienced attacker remains as essential for the team both on and off the pitch and he has shown with his recent goal for Cypriot club Omonoia FC against Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League that he is a man for the big occasions.
A seasoned journeyman, Ansarifard has played his football in Spain, Greece, Qatar, Cyprus as well as England where he had a short spell at Nottingham Forest in 2018-19.
With the trio of Azmoun, Taremi and Jahanbakhsh almost guaranteed to start whenever fit, Ansarifard could either arrive as an impact substitute or play in midfield in games where Iran look to employ a more proactive approach in attack. With Allahyar Sayyadmanesh injured and Azmoun in a race against time to be fit, the role of Iran’s most recent FIFA World Cup goal scorer will be all the more important in Qatar 2022.
Mehdi Taremi
Position: Winger
Age: 30
Very few players have experienced the rapid rise to stardom that Mehdi Taremi underwent in recent years. In 2014, the versatile forward was plying his trade in the second tier of Iranian football, and nowhere near the national team. Fast forward to 2022; Taremi is a household name in European football, with a FIFA Puskás Award nomination and the top scorer award in the Portuguese Primeira Liga to his name.
On the international front, Taremi formed a devastating trio alongside Sardar Azmoun and Alireza Jahanbakhsh, with the three of them combining for over 170 international goals between them. Taremi is headed to his second FIFA World Cup as seventh amongst Iran’s all-time top scorers with 27 goals in 58 caps.
Sardar Azmoun
Position: Striker
Age: 27
The Yin to Taremi’s Yang, Sardar Azmoun has spearheaded Iran’s attack for the past seven years with great success. While Taremi drifts wide and hovers around the box, Azmoun uses his combination of poacher’s instinct and imposing physique to convert chances.
Having never played his senior club football at home, Azmoun started his senior career at Russian Premier League side Rubin Kazan, opting for a move abroad at the expense of offers from Iran giants Esteghlal and Persepolis. In nearly a decade in Russian football, Azmoun established himself as one of the most recognised goalscorers in European football, becoming the all-time highest Iranian top scorer in the UEFA Champions League.
In January, it was time for a new adventure as the 27-year-old moved to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen.
After missing out on a place in the Iran squad for Brazil 2014, Azmoun enhanced his reputation at the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015, where he scored a wonder goal against Qatar in the group stage then opened the scoring in their quarter-finals 3-3 draw against Iraq; a game they eventually lost on penalty shootouts.
Four years later in UAE, Azmoun finished second to Qatar’s Almoez Ali in the competition’s scoring charts, bagging four goals. He is currently the nation’s third all-time top scorer with 40 international goals. Only the legendary Ali Daei has a better strike rate than Azmoun’s 0.63 goals per game for Team Melli.
PARIS, June 27: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Israel's new top diplomat Yair Lapid on Sunday, in the United States' first face-to-face meeting with the freshly installed government that seeks a less combative approach with its main ally Washington.
Lapid, a centrist who delayed his own plans to be prime minister as he masterminded a coalition to unseat veteran leader Benjamin Netanyahu, is flying to Rome to see Blinken, who arrives in Italy on Sunday on a three-nation tour of Europe.
The meeting comes as President Joe Biden's administration moves ahead with fresh talks on reviving a 2015 accord with Iran -- strongly opposed by Israel -- in which Tehran drastically scaled back nuclear work in return for promises of sanctions relief.
Biden and Blinken are also eager to preserve a fragile ceasefire that took effect on May 21 between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, after the worst fighting since 2014.
The bloodshed triggered some of the strongest criticism of Israel in memory in the US Congress, with some members of Biden's Democratic Party accusing Netanyahu of excessive force and of triggering the crisis by backing far-right Jewish groups that want to change the delicate status quo in the holy city of Jerusalem.
Lapid, who took office on June 13 under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a nationalist, has accused Netanyahu of jeopardizing Israel's once rock-solid support in the United States by openly rallying behind former president Donald Trump's Republican Party.
The new coalition government still sees Iran as the major threat to Israel, and has launched its own strikes on the Gaza Strip -- but has pledged to put the alliance with Washington first and to try to keep differences private.
After one of Lapid's telephone conversations with Blinken, the Israeli foreign ministry said that the two agreed on no surprises in the relationship.
Netanyahu quickly pounced, posting a video in English on social media calling the new government "so dangerous" and speaking of how he as premier would sometimes not inform the United States of pending Israeli actions.
- Modest goals on Middle East –
With tensions still high after last month's violence, a motley coalition getting its bearings in Israel and political uncertainties lingering within the Palestinian Authority, the Biden administration has made clear it is not rushing to make any grand Middle East peace initiatives.
Blinken, speaking in Paris at a forum on the youth-oriented Brut network, said the immediate priority was finding ways to bring humanitarian and reconstruction aid into the densely populated and impoverished Gaza Strip.
Also critical is to "avoid provocations and incidents over the coming days, weeks and months that could reignite the violence and then to work to create a bit more confidence between the Israelis and Palestinians," Blinken said.
The hope is that "there can be conditions, which do not currently exist, to allow perhaps a relaunch of the peace process and the establishment of two states, Israel and Palestine," Blinken said.
"I don't think the conditions are there yet. We have to work on them and we will."
He reiterated that the Biden administration plans to let the Palestine Liberation Organization reopen its office in Washington, which was closed under former president Donald Trump in one of the first of many decisions welcomed by Netanyahu.
The Biden administration has hoped to be less involved in Middle East hotspots and to repair rifts created under Trump with European allies as part of a strategy to focus long-term attention on managing the rise of China.
In his three days in Italy, Blinken on Monday will see Pope Francis, the pontiff's first meeting with a high-ranking Biden administration official.
Blinken will also take part in meetings hosted by Italy of the Group of 20 major economies and of the coalition to defeat the Islamic State extremist group.
